Capo’s Chicken with sweet pecan mustard glaze

I started my college career at Emory University in Atlanta. Not really knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up, I knew that a school with a strong science department was a good place to start.

I used to love to go to a little restaurant in the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta called Capo’s café. They had the most amazing chicken stuffed with cream cheese and served with a sweet and savory pecan mustard sauce.

So, I thought I would share my version of this recipe with you. Although a fairly decadent recipe, I always try to tweak all my recipes for better health without compromising the flavor. I think you’ll like this one.

Be sure to have some good quality mustard, pecans and a bit of brown sugar on hand for this recipe.

This recipe calls for cream cheese, of course, use lowfat (Neufenchel Cheese) BUT for many of my blog followers that are super sensitive to lactose, try making your own lactose free ‘cream cheese’. {It’s quite easy, really, you just need a little time} Recipe to follow. But this small amount of cream cheese should be tolerated for those with lactose intolerance.

First pound the chicken breast. This part is essential as you want the chicken to be quite thin so that it will cook quickly.

Then place a dollop of cream cheese in the middle of the flattened chicken piece.

Roll up the chicken and secure with toothpicks.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, place the chicken pieces in the skillet and let them brown up a bit, About 2 minutes on each side.

Using tongs to flip the chicken is the easiest way to handle these little guys. Turn carefully to ensure the cream cheese stays tucked inside the chicken.

When the chicken is all browned up, add in some butter, brown sugar, mustard, and pecans stirring until ingredients combine.

Place the yogurt into a strainer lined with cheese cloth and put the strainer on top of a small bowl or cup to catch the liquid that will escape through the cheese cloth. As the liquid leaves the yogurt, the ‘cheese’ begins to form. Place the yogurt and strainer in the fridge to strain away for about 3 hours.

Cheese cloth is a meshy cloth that you can find at most grocer’s or kitchen stores.

After the 3 hours, remove the cheese cloth and slowly roll out your newly made cheese. Use this cheese in this recipe or in other recipes that call for cream cheese.